De beste documentaires van IDFA 2014
In just two weeks IDFA will begin in Amsterdam, the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam. It will be on from 19 November up till and including 30 November in hundreds of movie houses all over the city, inspiring and intense documentaries told by starting out and experienced film makers. IDFA is always a highlight of the year for me personally and the opening day of ticket sales is written in big letters in my agenda. That day is 11 November at 19:00, but the agenda was released today so the foreplay can begin. To make life a little easier, I’ve gone through the offering and have made a list of films that in my opinion should not be missed.
Advanced Style
New Yorker Ari Seth Cohen began the blog Advanced Style, where Ari posts photos of super stylish people of age – and her blog became a world hit. In this film we follow a few of the women who became well known through the blog and who are all far freer and enjoying life more than many a young person. She shows us that getting older is not all that bad, and instead fabulous.
Iris
Anyone who has been paying attention to photos of New York high society parties will have seen Iris Apfel. She’s a fabric designer, business woman, style icon and 93 years old. She’s a bird of paradise pur sang and still very much desirable for anyone wanting ‘something’ in fashion. The documentary follows her daily life and gives a peek into her luxuriant and legendary life.
Oh My Gosh, Zilla
Do you still remember the girl that staged her own entire trip through Asia a while ago? It was front page news and now a documentary has been written about it. She took photos from the internet and photoshopped her own head into them, Skyped her parents from Asian restaurants on the Zeedijk and was actually staying at her boyfriends house for five long weeks; the only one who knew what she was doing. The goal: showing how that polished life we all show to the world on social media is all made up.
Citizenfour
A little heavier on subject but very interesting and good to see. The story of the whistle blower Edward Snowden, from the first email he sent under the name of Citizenfour. The film promises to tell us the story of Snowden, but also to show the insane consequences of turning against the system. Snowden worked for the CIA and later for the NSA and exposed the American government’s programmes that watch every bit of data that people produce. The turning point of modern times in it’s most dangerous form.
My Dearest F#cking iPhone
We’re sticking to the negative digital consequences of ‘our’ time. In this one we follow Claudia, who has a love-hate relationship with her iPhone. She becomes insecure from all the beautiful photos posted by others, feels lonely and alone, but also cannot live without it. A recognisable story for anyone with an iPhone.
That Sugar Film
Sugar is bad for us, nothing new there. But how bad is sugar exactly? Damon Gameau researches it by eating 40 teaspoons of sugar daily for 60 days, about as much as the average teenager takes in. Not from candy or other obvious things, but by products that are supposedly good for you like smoothies, yoghurt and light products.
Cats in Riga
A must for all the cat lovers (moi) out there. This film shows Riga from the perspective of, yes the cat. As Riga continues to be an unsettled place, we follow the many cats in the city calmly walking around, jumping on tables and escaping the dangers of the shower. Seems like a fabulous film with lots of cats but also one that shows us that perspective is always subjective.
Rio 50°
Yesss 100 minutes of Rio of your screen! I’m absolutely going to see this one in anticipation and any of you going to Rio too should go and see it. This film shows the diversity of the city, from extremely rich to very poor and everything in between, by means of portraits of inhabitants.
